Residents across eastern Sokoto State are sounding fresh alarm bells over security threats. Reports indicate bandit chief Bello Turji and his fighters are running weapons training and tactical exercises in Isa Local Government Area.
Border communities in the region have lived under constant siege for years. They've suffered repeated raids, mass abductions, and livestock theft along the Sokoto-Zamfara frontier.
Security analysts say the drills are happening in Bingabale, Bafarawa, Bargaja and Gebe. All four villages sit within the Eastern Senatorial District.
Turji has long used this territory as a base for operations. His network stretches across the region's most volatile zones.
He ranks among northwestern Nigeria's most dangerous criminal operators. His reach extends through Zamfara, Sokoto and Niger State territories.
Over many years, Turji's gang has orchestrated brutal assaults. Hundreds of residents and soldiers have died in his attacks.
Countless families lost loved ones to kidnappings. Communities saw farms abandoned and markets shut down.
His command structure includes dozens of fighters stationed across camps. Zurmi, Sabon Birni and Anka serve as known strongholds in Zamfara.
Local leaders have tried negotiating peace deals with him repeatedly. Turji has rejected every single offer for reconciliation.
Communities want access restored to schools, clinics and farmland. Without peace, normal life remains impossible across the region.
Last October, former Defence Minister Mohammed Abubakar Badaru visited Operation Fansan Yamma troops in Gusau. He carried a direct message from President Tinubu to the soldiers.
"The President thanks you and wants you to do more," Badaru told them. He promised full supply support for their operations against banditry.
Badaru made a specific demand of the officers present. "Get me Turji, dead or alive," he said bluntly.
Military leaders have also issued tough warnings against the bandit boss. Command officials once called him a "dead man walking."
They vowed sustained campaigns to eliminate Turji and his network. Yet attacks have continued unabated across the Northwest despite these promises.
On Saturday, Basharu Altine Guyawa Isa posted allegations on Facebook. Isa coordinates the Movement for Social Justice and Good Governance in Sokoto.
According to him, Turji's men are conducting formal military training drills. They're handling newly acquired weapons during these exercises.
Participants include fighters named Illa Manawa and Bomi, Isa claimed. He identified Bomi as Turji's younger brother.
Isa said the weapons being used are sophisticated and modern. These same arms allegedly showed up in recent clashes with military forces.
A military vehicle damaged by an improvised explosive device sat in Bargaja on Saturday. Its condition offered stark evidence of recent combat in the area.
